NEC doubles output in China

NEC doubles output in China

TOKYO (AFP): Japanese computer giant NEC Corp. will double its
microchip output in China to meet brisk demand from mobile
telephone companies, a report said Saturday.

NEC, the world's second largest microchip maker after Intel
Corp., will invest 37 billion yen (US$339 billion) to raise
output at joint ventures in Shanghai and Beijing, Nihon Keizai
Shimbun business daily said.

The company will boost production of logic IC (integrated
circuits) chips used in mobile telephone handsets, it said.

The number of mobile telephone subscribers in China is
expected to reach 70 million by the end of this year, topping
that in Japan and creating the world's second largest market
after the United States.